英国天美百达集团
英国天美百达集团简介
1958年，天美百达集团成立，总部设在英国，是全球最大的主营消费品的第三方物流公司之一，同行业第七位。集团主要从事多种模式的3PL及4PL服务。
天美百达集团在五大洲的33个国家都设有分部及机构，员工数目33000人，其中仅在英国就有6个分部，如FMCG物流供给部、制造业物流供给部、欧洲技术物流供给部、欧洲纺织品物流供给部等。
据英国天美百达集团主席约翰·哈维介绍，天美百达的宗旨是与客户发展伙伴性关系，并通过在不同国家和行业之间引进经验和转让客户特许权，以巩固其在合同物流和供给链治理方面的国际领先地位。他说，天美百达的物流业务，91%以上都是合同物流，主要集中在食品、杂货、服装、消耗装置以及汽车领域。2002 年，它的营业总收入高达15亿英镑(24亿欧元，这些收入中，78%来自零售商，22%来自供给商。
1998年，天美百达集团在中国设立了中英合资公司——和黄天百物流(中国)公司。作为一个3PL专家，天美百达自进入中国市场以来，业务发展迅速，如今在香港、上海、北京、天津、齐齐哈尔、成都、广州和深圳等地共设立了10个分支机构，各式运输车2200辆，向400个城市交付商品。而在中国国内的零售业客户中，它拥有诸如沃尔玛、物美、华普超市等一大批闻名企业。
天美百达在海外的物流经验
约翰·哈维以天美百达在海外的物流经验，从地理位置与距离、物流的复杂程度、所有权的集中度、交付界面的规程，以及技术等方面，介绍了中外零售物流之间的差异。
1、地理位置与距离上有很大差异。在中国，一个省的面积，往往就相当于欧洲一个国家的面积。
2、物流的复杂程度不同。以约·圣斯伯雷-2003供给链条概念为例，现在西方零售商的物流比中国的要复杂得多。
3、所有权的集中度不同。西方零售商已经成为供给链条的控制方。例如在美国，前10位杂货店占了整个全国市场的96%，而中国所有综合零售商，却只占有全国市场份额的5.7%。
4、交付界面的规程不同。以零售商的仓库交付方式为例，欧洲推行“最后50米”交付与“零售单触式”交付，一个物流工作人员往往能够通过堆垛推移同时控制较大范围、大量的货物，而这种高效的仓库交付方式目前在中国还未曾实现。
5、技术差异。西方国家零售业物流中，商品都要进行精密包装，条形码扫描与声音识别的普及率很高，但这些技术目前在中国还处在起步阶段。
此外，欧洲4PL进站治理也开始兴起。和黄天百作为一个4PL治理人，也在中国建立了多模式跨国界的4PL跨码头网络。
约翰·哈维说，中国加入WTO后，多个领域降低关税，这就意味着海外零售商的进货渠道增加了，于是诸如沃尔玛、家乐福、欧尚、麦德龙等国际零售巨头纷纷将生产和地区供给迁移到中国来，他们在海外的规程、质量、包装、存储和合并等方面的先进技术和经营理念随之被引进中国。中国物流由此成为了全球供给链上的一个重要环节。而国际零售商们凭借他们在价格、质量等方面的竞争优势，在全球供给链条中处于一种控制地位，因此也可能对供给商施加压力，这表现在他们在改善货架的上货率、降低库存率方面，可能对供给商提出更高的物流要求。哈维并不隐讳天美百达在这方面的经历。他说，天美百达也曾碰到过几次来自零售商的物流压力，不过要害是平衡问题。通过利益平衡，天美百达解决了与零售商的矛盾并实现了持续合作。
约翰·哈维认为，海外经验对于中国具有重要的借鉴意义，但由于中外零售物流存在诸多差异，因此，中国企业应有选择地引进先进技术而不是照搬，要有一个“去粗取精”的过程。天美百达在中国的实践
天美百达以供给链为焦点的服务，通过和黄天百在中国的服务得以实现，包括仓库与存货治理、销售商合并、重新包装和促俏包装等增值服务，运输与分销、国际供给链条治理、理货与报关、系统方法与综合，实践4PL治理服务。而在这些服务过程中，其功能强大的IT解决方案ISC2000，实在是功不可没。
对于天美百达在中国业已取得的成绩，约翰·哈维提供了一组最新数据。他说，无论是按时交付率、完成订单率，还是组装准确率，天美百达在中国的物流效率都是很高的。
英文版:英国天美百达集团简介
Fast-moving Tibbett %26amp; Britten Group plc is one of the world‘s leading logistics companies offering warehousing, distribution, and logistical support services, including ‘pre-retailing‘ services. Market leader in the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa, Tibbett %26amp; Britten has also captured strong shares in the United States, European, African, Middle Eastern, and Far Eastern markets. Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s more than 30,000 employees operate in 25 countries, with a focus on the ‘fast-moving consumer goods‘ (FMCG) segment. Building on its original specialty as a clothing transporter, Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s primary business comes from the food, consumer goods, clothing and textile, and automobile and light van transportation sectors. The company offers more than 400 warehousing facilities providing some 2.8 million square meters. Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s fleet of more than 8,500 vehicles operates almost entirely under its clients‘ colors, spanning the range of major retailers and manufacturers, including Asda, Brooks Brothers, C %26amp; A, Marks and Spencer, Black %26amp; Decker, Colgate-Palmolive, Compaq, Next, Nestlé, Nissan, Sainsbury, Sears, Wal-Mart, and Reebok. Over 90 percent of the company‘s business comes from long-term and short-term contracts. In addition to its client-oriented logistics services, Tibbett %26amp; Britten is also a major European multi-modal (road and rail) logistics provider. Tibbett %26amp; Britten continues to be led by chairman John Harvey, who joined the company in 1969 and has been the chief architect of its growth. Since the mid-1980s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten has posted a 25 percent compounded annual growth record; since the beginning of the 1990s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual revenues have multiplied by nearly five times.
John Tibbett began making deliveries in the 1950s, and by the middle of the decade had begun to specialize in transporting clothing from London‘s East End garment district to retailers in the city‘s West End. Tibbett‘s clothing specialty led him to pioneer new methods of transporting garments. Instead of the traditional method of placing clothing in boxes for transport--which required that the clothing not only be taken out of the boxes again but also often that they be ironed for retail presentation--Tibbett outfitted his tiny fleet of trucks to carry the clothing on hangers. By eliminating the need for boxes, Tibbett also enabled his retailer clients to save on storage space--releasing more of their stores for selling space. The savings in cost and time enabled Tibbett to win a loyal clientele. By 1958, Tibbett had been joined by Frank Britten, and the partners incorporated the company as Tibbett %26amp; Britten.
Tibbett %26amp; Britten remained a small affair, operating out of a converted house in Leytonstone. While the company began to take on new employees, and expand its fleet to ten vehicles by the end of the 1960s, for much of the decade it was forced to rent out a room on the upper floor of the house, using this rent money to pay the company‘s utilities bills. When the company took on its first storage contract, however, its days as landlord were ended. The company began a steady expansion through the 1960s, winning a contract to provide logistics services to a chain of retail fashion shops. Tibbett %26amp; Britten opened a new depot in London‘s Docklands district, as the company built up its fleet of trucks.
During this time, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had met up with John Harvey, then chief of Unilever‘s U.K.-based distribution division, SPD, located nearby. By the end of the 1960s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten was looking to expand its operations. In order to finance its expansion, Harvey arranged for Unilever, through SPD, together with Dutch transporter Van Gend %26amp; Loos (VGL), to each buy 37.5 percent of Tibbett %26amp; Britten, while Tibbett %26amp; Britten held on to the remaining 25 percent. The SPD/VGL purchase--meant to diversify Unilever‘s distribution business beyond its core grocery operationsenabled Tibbett %26amp; Britten not only to expand its operations, but also to become a more professionally organized business.
By the 1970s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had moved to new headquarters, in Tottenham (its Docklands headquarters had been a garden shed next to the main depot). Strong investment from its new partners enabled the company to expand rapidly during the decades, opening a number of new depots and warehouses, and to take on larger scale contracts from a wider range of customers. Before long, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had established itself as a nationally based company, and the first to offer nationwide hanging garment distribution. The company then reformed itself into two divisions, National, and International, which initially focused on allowing the company to enter continental European markets. Both divisions remained specialized on clothing and textile distribution.
A big boost for the company came when it won a contract to take on distribution work for Marks %26amp; Spencer in 1973. The contract, which named Tibbett %26amp; Britten as the retailers‘ exclusive distributor of hanging mens‘ garments, was extended in 1978, to cover womens‘ garments as well, placing Tibbett %26amp; Britten as the exclusive distributor of the famed British retailer‘s hanging garment stock. Between 1978 and 1981, the Marks and Spencer contract enabled Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s revenues to double, and by 1982, the Marks %26amp; Spencer contract provided more than 50 percent of Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual sales of ￡24 million.
Marks %26amp; Spencer soon asked Tibbett %26amp; Britten to take over all of its hanging garment distribution for its stores and its suppliers, and to build a dedicated depot and distribution network to service this contract. Tibbett %26amp; Britten agreed, and in January 1983 the company launched a third division, Transcare, dedicated to its Marks %26amp; Spencer business. Establishment of Transcare involved an extensive reorganization on Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s part, including the opening of new depots, investment in new machinery and handling equipment, and the expansion of the company‘s fleet of tractor trailers. The investment proved a heavy one, particularly as it came during the economic downswing that marked the early years of the 1980s, and Tibbett %26amp; Britten soon found its profits under pressure. By 1983, the company faced a net loss of nearly ￡800,000.
Tibbett %26amp; Britten faced a different transformation in the same year as the Transcare launch. Unilever made the decision to exit its transport operations in 1983; in that year, SPD and VGL decided to end their investment in the Tibbett %26amp; Britten partnership. SPD Chairman John Harvey was given the opportunity to lead Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s management in a management buyout. The buyout was accomplished in December 1984.
Harvey moved first to consolidate the company‘s clothing distribution operations, reducing expenses in order to bring the company back into profitability. Tibbett %26amp; Britten next turned to an analysis of its future expansion. During the company‘s partnership with VGL and SPD, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had not only gained a great deal of investment in technology and operating systems, but had also built up a strong management team with a diversified distribution background. The company determined to put that experience to work, opening out its operations to the wider FMCG market. While the company‘s Marks and Spencer contract continued to grow, including the design, construction, and operation of a regional distribution center for the retailer in Essex, Tibbett %26amp; Britten reorganized to put into place the infrastructure for its diversification into other distribution markets. By 1984, Tibbett %26amp; Britten once again showed net profits on the year.
The company established two new divisions in 1986. The first, Dartford Securities Ltd., was established in order to extend its Marks and Spencer business, with new large-scale multi-product warehouses. After opening the first regional distribution center in 1986, the company added two more in 1990 and a fourth in 1991. A second division, Retail Consolidation Services, was created to service the company‘s other contract clients, built around an IBM-dedicated central warehouse in Milton Keynes, and quickly adding a distribution center in Whitwood, acquired from Unilever. That acquisition also gave the company a seven-year contract to stock and distribute the toiletry and personal care product line of Elida Gibbs. This contract, renewed in 1994, provided the basis of the company‘s further expansion in this product category.
In order to fund these investments, Tibbett %26amp; Britten took a listing on the London stock exchange in 1986. The public offering marked the start of a long period of expansion, which saw the company grow from a base of less than 1,500 employees and sales of just over ￡32 million in the mid-1980s, to a leading international company of some 20,000 employees and annual sales of more than ￡1.1 billion at the end of the 1990s.
Tibbett %26amp; Britten was aided by the changing nature of the retail business. Under pressure from a difficult economic climate and from tightening competition, as well as spiraling real estate costs, retailers also confronted a changing consumer landscape as well. Consumer purchases turned more and more toward so-called ‘lifestyle‘ purchases, with a resulting new volatility in trends and fashions. Retailers in turn reduced back stock, introducing just-in-time delivery practices that required tighter ordering and delivery coordination. At the same time, the growing number of major and globally operating retail chains demanded internationally based distribution systems. Rather than investing in adapting their own distribution divisions to this new market reality, retailers turned to specialized third parties to handle their logistics needs. Tibbett %26amp; Britten found itself well-placed to attract this new wave of clients.
The company continued to invest in new facilities, while diversifying its operations to include distribution of new product types and new logistics services. Tibbett %26amp; Britten also began making acquisitions, adding the pre-retailing services--such as tagging and labeling, etc.--of International Garment Services Ltd. and two 100,000-square-foot Woolworth distribution centers (subsequently contracted back to Woolworth Corporation) in 1988. The following year saw the signing on of a number of new major clients, including Colgate-Palmolive, Black %26amp; Decker, and supermarketers Asda and Sainsbury. In September 1989, Tibbett %26amp; Britten acquired Lowfield Distribution, with its seven grocery-oriented distribution sites. This purchase was followed by the company‘s entry into the North American market, with the establishment of its Transcare Inc. Canadian subsidiary in Toronto.
Into the 1990s, the company continued to make strategic acquisitions of both distribution companies and customer-owned distribution facilities. For example, the company took over Digital Corp.‘s U.K. warehousing, stock, and logistics operations. In Canada, the company renamed its subsidiary operations there as Tibbett %26amp; Britten Group Canada Inc. (TBGC), taking on the logistics assets and operations of both Robinsons Department Store and Chesebrough-Ponds. Tibbett %26amp; Britten also contracted with Talbot Stores as that company launched its own Canada operations. Back home, the company‘s garment contracts, other than its Marks and Spencer business, were regrouped under the brand name Fashion Logistics.
The acquisition of Silcock in 1992 brought Tibbett %26amp; Britten into the automotive transport business. Silcock had been founded in the early 1920s by two employees of the Ford Motor Company, who hit on the idea of delivering that company‘s Model Ts in their spare time. By the mid-1920s, the pair had set up the U.K.‘s first dedicated auto distribution business, with operations in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal; Silcock‘s relation with Ford would continue through the rest of the century. In order to fund the Silcock acquisition, at a price of ￡31.3 million, Tibbett %26amp; Britten performed a one-for-five exchange of stock, worth just under ￡33 million. By then, Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual sales had grown to ￡231.75 million.
Reflecting the company‘s steady growth, Tibbett %26amp; Britten reorganized in 1993, forming three major operating divisions, Tibbett %26amp; Britten Ltd., containing its U.K. business; Tibbett %26amp; Britten International Ltd., for all its non-automotive international business; and Silcock Express Holdings Ltd., for the company‘s U.K. and international car and light vehicle operations. Tibbett %26amp; Britten continued its organic growth, opening storage and distribution facilities for its clients, with new additions such as Warner Brothers‘ Studio Stores and VAG, the Volkswagen, Audio, Skoda and SEAT parts provider. As Tibbett %26amp; Britten stepped up its European operations, including acquiring in 1994 Toleman, an automobile distributor focused on Ford imports, it also expanded into South Africa, while deepening its operations in Canada--particularly with winning a warehousing and distribution contract from Wal-Mart, the first time the retailer had ever outsourced for its distribution needs. The Wal-Mart contract, initially only for one year, continued to be extended through the second half of the decade, including a 1998 contract to create a multi-facility network for Wal-Mart‘s Canada operations, as well as an extension of the contract to provide logistics support for Wal-Mart‘s entry into Germany.
Entry into the United States market came in 1995, with the extension of the TBGC subsidiary to include all of North America, and the launch of startup operations for Brooks Brothers in New Jersey and Philips in Memphis, Tennessee. The company also made a number of significant acquisitions, including the purchase of Dutch publisher VNU‘s distribution arm, Metra Media Transport, in the Netherlands and the purchase, for ￡12 million, of Unilever‘s TKL refrigerated traffic distribution wing in Austria. In that year, Tibbett %26amp; Britten once again restructured, forming the company into two major divisions: Textiles %26amp; Clothing and Consumer Products.
Although Tibbett %26amp; Britten continued to look for strategic acquisitions, the company‘s strong growth remained largely organic, with expansion spurred by the winning of new contracts and clients. New contracts in 1997 included the takeover of a 170-acre, 1.8 million-square-foot grocery distribution center in California, reputedly the world‘s largest grocery-dedicated warehousing site. A new acquisition in 1998, of Causse Walon, the leading national automotive carrier in France, added ￡58 million to Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual sales, which in that year hit the ￡1 billion mark. In 1999, the company acquired California-based EFL Transportation, an apparel distribution provider to clothing retailers, including Gap, marking the company‘s entry into the U.S. apparel market. Also in 1999, Tibbett %26amp; Britten acquired Remijsen, adding grocery distribution to the company‘s Netherlands operations. As one of the world‘s only companies wholly dedicated to providing logistics and logistics support services, Tibbett %26amp; Britten looked forward to smooth roads in the 21st century.
1958年，天美百达集团成立，总部设在英国，是全球最大的主营消费品的第三方物流公司之一，同行业第七位。集团主要从事多种模式的3PL及4PL服务。
天美百达集团在五大洲的33个国家都设有分部及机构，员工数目33000人，其中仅在英国就有6个分部，如FMCG物流供给部、制造业物流供给部、欧洲技术物流供给部、欧洲纺织品物流供给部等。
据英国天美百达集团主席约翰·哈维介绍，天美百达的宗旨是与客户发展伙伴性关系，并通过在不同国家和行业之间引进经验和转让客户特许权，以巩固其在合同物流和供给链治理方面的国际领先地位。他说，天美百达的物流业务，91%以上都是合同物流，主要集中在食品、杂货、服装、消耗装置以及汽车领域。2002 年，它的营业总收入高达15亿英镑(24亿欧元，这些收入中，78%来自零售商，22%来自供给商。
1998年，天美百达集团在中国设立了中英合资公司——和黄天百物流(中国)公司。作为一个3PL专家，天美百达自进入中国市场以来，业务发展迅速，如今在香港、上海、北京、天津、齐齐哈尔、成都、广州和深圳等地共设立了10个分支机构，各式运输车2200辆，向400个城市交付商品。而在中国国内的零售业客户中，它拥有诸如沃尔玛、物美、华普超市等一大批闻名企业。
天美百达在海外的物流经验
约翰·哈维以天美百达在海外的物流经验，从地理位置与距离、物流的复杂程度、所有权的集中度、交付界面的规程，以及技术等方面，介绍了中外零售物流之间的差异。
1、地理位置与距离上有很大差异。在中国，一个省的面积，往往就相当于欧洲一个国家的面积。
2、物流的复杂程度不同。以约·圣斯伯雷-2003供给链条概念为例，现在西方零售商的物流比中国的要复杂得多。
3、所有权的集中度不同。西方零售商已经成为供给链条的控制方。例如在美国，前10位杂货店占了整个全国市场的96%，而中国所有综合零售商，却只占有全国市场份额的5.7%。
4、交付界面的规程不同。以零售商的仓库交付方式为例，欧洲推行“最后50米”交付与“零售单触式”交付，一个物流工作人员往往能够通过堆垛推移同时控制较大范围、大量的货物，而这种高效的仓库交付方式目前在中国还未曾实现。
5、技术差异。西方国家零售业物流中，商品都要进行精密包装，条形码扫描与声音识别的普及率很高，但这些技术目前在中国还处在起步阶段。
此外，欧洲4PL进站治理也开始兴起。和黄天百作为一个4PL治理人，也在中国建立了多模式跨国界的4PL跨码头网络。
约翰·哈维说，中国加入WTO后，多个领域降低关税，这就意味着海外零售商的进货渠道增加了，于是诸如沃尔玛、家乐福、欧尚、麦德龙等国际零售巨头纷纷将生产和地区供给迁移到中国来，他们在海外的规程、质量、包装、存储和合并等方面的先进技术和经营理念随之被引进中国。中国物流由此成为了全球供给链上的一个重要环节。而国际零售商们凭借他们在价格、质量等方面的竞争优势，在全球供给链条中处于一种控制地位，因此也可能对供给商施加压力，这表现在他们在改善货架的上货率、降低库存率方面，可能对供给商提出更高的物流要求。哈维并不隐讳天美百达在这方面的经历。他说，天美百达也曾碰到过几次来自零售商的物流压力，不过要害是平衡问题。通过利益平衡，天美百达解决了与零售商的矛盾并实现了持续合作。
约翰·哈维认为，海外经验对于中国具有重要的借鉴意义，但由于中外零售物流存在诸多差异，因此，中国企业应有选择地引进先进技术而不是照搬，要有一个“去粗取精”的过程。天美百达在中国的实践
天美百达以供给链为焦点的服务，通过和黄天百在中国的服务得以实现，包括仓库与存货治理、销售商合并、重新包装和促俏包装等增值服务，运输与分销、国际供给链条治理、理货与报关、系统方法与综合，实践4PL治理服务。而在这些服务过程中，其功能强大的IT解决方案ISC2000，实在是功不可没。
对于天美百达在中国业已取得的成绩，约翰·哈维提供了一组最新数据。他说，无论是按时交付率、完成订单率，还是组装准确率，天美百达在中国的物流效率都是很高的。
英文版:英国天美百达集团简介
Fast-moving Tibbett %26amp; Britten Group plc is one of the world‘s leading logistics companies offering warehousing, distribution, and logistical support services, including ‘pre-retailing‘ services. Market leader in the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa, Tibbett %26amp; Britten has also captured strong shares in the United States, European, African, Middle Eastern, and Far Eastern markets. Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s more than 30,000 employees operate in 25 countries, with a focus on the ‘fast-moving consumer goods‘ (FMCG) segment. Building on its original specialty as a clothing transporter, Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s primary business comes from the food, consumer goods, clothing and textile, and automobile and light van transportation sectors. The company offers more than 400 warehousing facilities providing some 2.8 million square meters. Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s fleet of more than 8,500 vehicles operates almost entirely under its clients‘ colors, spanning the range of major retailers and manufacturers, including Asda, Brooks Brothers, C %26amp; A, Marks and Spencer, Black %26amp; Decker, Colgate-Palmolive, Compaq, Next, Nestlé, Nissan, Sainsbury, Sears, Wal-Mart, and Reebok. Over 90 percent of the company‘s business comes from long-term and short-term contracts. In addition to its client-oriented logistics services, Tibbett %26amp; Britten is also a major European multi-modal (road and rail) logistics provider. Tibbett %26amp; Britten continues to be led by chairman John Harvey, who joined the company in 1969 and has been the chief architect of its growth. Since the mid-1980s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten has posted a 25 percent compounded annual growth record; since the beginning of the 1990s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual revenues have multiplied by nearly five times.
John Tibbett began making deliveries in the 1950s, and by the middle of the decade had begun to specialize in transporting clothing from London‘s East End garment district to retailers in the city‘s West End. Tibbett‘s clothing specialty led him to pioneer new methods of transporting garments. Instead of the traditional method of placing clothing in boxes for transport--which required that the clothing not only be taken out of the boxes again but also often that they be ironed for retail presentation--Tibbett outfitted his tiny fleet of trucks to carry the clothing on hangers. By eliminating the need for boxes, Tibbett also enabled his retailer clients to save on storage space--releasing more of their stores for selling space. The savings in cost and time enabled Tibbett to win a loyal clientele. By 1958, Tibbett had been joined by Frank Britten, and the partners incorporated the company as Tibbett %26amp; Britten.
Tibbett %26amp; Britten remained a small affair, operating out of a converted house in Leytonstone. While the company began to take on new employees, and expand its fleet to ten vehicles by the end of the 1960s, for much of the decade it was forced to rent out a room on the upper floor of the house, using this rent money to pay the company‘s utilities bills. When the company took on its first storage contract, however, its days as landlord were ended. The company began a steady expansion through the 1960s, winning a contract to provide logistics services to a chain of retail fashion shops. Tibbett %26amp; Britten opened a new depot in London‘s Docklands district, as the company built up its fleet of trucks.
During this time, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had met up with John Harvey, then chief of Unilever‘s U.K.-based distribution division, SPD, located nearby. By the end of the 1960s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten was looking to expand its operations. In order to finance its expansion, Harvey arranged for Unilever, through SPD, together with Dutch transporter Van Gend %26amp; Loos (VGL), to each buy 37.5 percent of Tibbett %26amp; Britten, while Tibbett %26amp; Britten held on to the remaining 25 percent. The SPD/VGL purchase--meant to diversify Unilever‘s distribution business beyond its core grocery operationsenabled Tibbett %26amp; Britten not only to expand its operations, but also to become a more professionally organized business.
By the 1970s, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had moved to new headquarters, in Tottenham (its Docklands headquarters had been a garden shed next to the main depot). Strong investment from its new partners enabled the company to expand rapidly during the decades, opening a number of new depots and warehouses, and to take on larger scale contracts from a wider range of customers. Before long, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had established itself as a nationally based company, and the first to offer nationwide hanging garment distribution. The company then reformed itself into two divisions, National, and International, which initially focused on allowing the company to enter continental European markets. Both divisions remained specialized on clothing and textile distribution.
A big boost for the company came when it won a contract to take on distribution work for Marks %26amp; Spencer in 1973. The contract, which named Tibbett %26amp; Britten as the retailers‘ exclusive distributor of hanging mens‘ garments, was extended in 1978, to cover womens‘ garments as well, placing Tibbett %26amp; Britten as the exclusive distributor of the famed British retailer‘s hanging garment stock. Between 1978 and 1981, the Marks and Spencer contract enabled Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s revenues to double, and by 1982, the Marks %26amp; Spencer contract provided more than 50 percent of Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual sales of ￡24 million.
Marks %26amp; Spencer soon asked Tibbett %26amp; Britten to take over all of its hanging garment distribution for its stores and its suppliers, and to build a dedicated depot and distribution network to service this contract. Tibbett %26amp; Britten agreed, and in January 1983 the company launched a third division, Transcare, dedicated to its Marks %26amp; Spencer business. Establishment of Transcare involved an extensive reorganization on Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s part, including the opening of new depots, investment in new machinery and handling equipment, and the expansion of the company‘s fleet of tractor trailers. The investment proved a heavy one, particularly as it came during the economic downswing that marked the early years of the 1980s, and Tibbett %26amp; Britten soon found its profits under pressure. By 1983, the company faced a net loss of nearly ￡800,000.
Tibbett %26amp; Britten faced a different transformation in the same year as the Transcare launch. Unilever made the decision to exit its transport operations in 1983; in that year, SPD and VGL decided to end their investment in the Tibbett %26amp; Britten partnership. SPD Chairman John Harvey was given the opportunity to lead Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s management in a management buyout. The buyout was accomplished in December 1984.
Harvey moved first to consolidate the company‘s clothing distribution operations, reducing expenses in order to bring the company back into profitability. Tibbett %26amp; Britten next turned to an analysis of its future expansion. During the company‘s partnership with VGL and SPD, Tibbett %26amp; Britten had not only gained a great deal of investment in technology and operating systems, but had also built up a strong management team with a diversified distribution background. The company determined to put that experience to work, opening out its operations to the wider FMCG market. While the company‘s Marks and Spencer contract continued to grow, including the design, construction, and operation of a regional distribution center for the retailer in Essex, Tibbett %26amp; Britten reorganized to put into place the infrastructure for its diversification into other distribution markets. By 1984, Tibbett %26amp; Britten once again showed net profits on the year.
The company established two new divisions in 1986. The first, Dartford Securities Ltd., was established in order to extend its Marks and Spencer business, with new large-scale multi-product warehouses. After opening the first regional distribution center in 1986, the company added two more in 1990 and a fourth in 1991. A second division, Retail Consolidation Services, was created to service the company‘s other contract clients, built around an IBM-dedicated central warehouse in Milton Keynes, and quickly adding a distribution center in Whitwood, acquired from Unilever. That acquisition also gave the company a seven-year contract to stock and distribute the toiletry and personal care product line of Elida Gibbs. This contract, renewed in 1994, provided the basis of the company‘s further expansion in this product category.
In order to fund these investments, Tibbett %26amp; Britten took a listing on the London stock exchange in 1986. The public offering marked the start of a long period of expansion, which saw the company grow from a base of less than 1,500 employees and sales of just over ￡32 million in the mid-1980s, to a leading international company of some 20,000 employees and annual sales of more than ￡1.1 billion at the end of the 1990s.
Tibbett %26amp; Britten was aided by the changing nature of the retail business. Under pressure from a difficult economic climate and from tightening competition, as well as spiraling real estate costs, retailers also confronted a changing consumer landscape as well. Consumer purchases turned more and more toward so-called ‘lifestyle‘ purchases, with a resulting new volatility in trends and fashions. Retailers in turn reduced back stock, introducing just-in-time delivery practices that required tighter ordering and delivery coordination. At the same time, the growing number of major and globally operating retail chains demanded internationally based distribution systems. Rather than investing in adapting their own distribution divisions to this new market reality, retailers turned to specialized third parties to handle their logistics needs. Tibbett %26amp; Britten found itself well-placed to attract this new wave of clients.
The company continued to invest in new facilities, while diversifying its operations to include distribution of new product types and new logistics services. Tibbett %26amp; Britten also began making acquisitions, adding the pre-retailing services--such as tagging and labeling, etc.--of International Garment Services Ltd. and two 100,000-square-foot Woolworth distribution centers (subsequently contracted back to Woolworth Corporation) in 1988. The following year saw the signing on of a number of new major clients, including Colgate-Palmolive, Black %26amp; Decker, and supermarketers Asda and Sainsbury. In September 1989, Tibbett %26amp; Britten acquired Lowfield Distribution, with its seven grocery-oriented distribution sites. This purchase was followed by the company‘s entry into the North American market, with the establishment of its Transcare Inc. Canadian subsidiary in Toronto.
Into the 1990s, the company continued to make strategic acquisitions of both distribution companies and customer-owned distribution facilities. For example, the company took over Digital Corp.‘s U.K. warehousing, stock, and logistics operations. In Canada, the company renamed its subsidiary operations there as Tibbett %26amp; Britten Group Canada Inc. (TBGC), taking on the logistics assets and operations of both Robinsons Department Store and Chesebrough-Ponds. Tibbett %26amp; Britten also contracted with Talbot Stores as that company launched its own Canada operations. Back home, the company‘s garment contracts, other than its Marks and Spencer business, were regrouped under the brand name Fashion Logistics.
The acquisition of Silcock in 1992 brought Tibbett %26amp; Britten into the automotive transport business. Silcock had been founded in the early 1920s by two employees of the Ford Motor Company, who hit on the idea of delivering that company‘s Model Ts in their spare time. By the mid-1920s, the pair had set up the U.K.‘s first dedicated auto distribution business, with operations in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal; Silcock‘s relation with Ford would continue through the rest of the century. In order to fund the Silcock acquisition, at a price of ￡31.3 million, Tibbett %26amp; Britten performed a one-for-five exchange of stock, worth just under ￡33 million. By then, Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual sales had grown to ￡231.75 million.
Reflecting the company‘s steady growth, Tibbett %26amp; Britten reorganized in 1993, forming three major operating divisions, Tibbett %26amp; Britten Ltd., containing its U.K. business; Tibbett %26amp; Britten International Ltd., for all its non-automotive international business; and Silcock Express Holdings Ltd., for the company‘s U.K. and international car and light vehicle operations. Tibbett %26amp; Britten continued its organic growth, opening storage and distribution facilities for its clients, with new additions such as Warner Brothers‘ Studio Stores and VAG, the Volkswagen, Audio, Skoda and SEAT parts provider. As Tibbett %26amp; Britten stepped up its European operations, including acquiring in 1994 Toleman, an automobile distributor focused on Ford imports, it also expanded into South Africa, while deepening its operations in Canada--particularly with winning a warehousing and distribution contract from Wal-Mart, the first time the retailer had ever outsourced for its distribution needs. The Wal-Mart contract, initially only for one year, continued to be extended through the second half of the decade, including a 1998 contract to create a multi-facility network for Wal-Mart‘s Canada operations, as well as an extension of the contract to provide logistics support for Wal-Mart‘s entry into Germany.
Entry into the United States market came in 1995, with the extension of the TBGC subsidiary to include all of North America, and the launch of startup operations for Brooks Brothers in New Jersey and Philips in Memphis, Tennessee. The company also made a number of significant acquisitions, including the purchase of Dutch publisher VNU‘s distribution arm, Metra Media Transport, in the Netherlands and the purchase, for ￡12 million, of Unilever‘s TKL refrigerated traffic distribution wing in Austria. In that year, Tibbett %26amp; Britten once again restructured, forming the company into two major divisions: Textiles %26amp; Clothing and Consumer Products.
Although Tibbett %26amp; Britten continued to look for strategic acquisitions, the company‘s strong growth remained largely organic, with expansion spurred by the winning of new contracts and clients. New contracts in 1997 included the takeover of a 170-acre, 1.8 million-square-foot grocery distribution center in California, reputedly the world‘s largest grocery-dedicated warehousing site. A new acquisition in 1998, of Causse Walon, the leading national automotive carrier in France, added ￡58 million to Tibbett %26amp; Britten‘s annual sales, which in that year hit the ￡1 billion mark. In 1999, the company acquired California-based EFL Transportation, an apparel distribution provider to clothing retailers, including Gap, marking the company‘s entry into the U.S. apparel market. Also in 1999, Tibbett %26amp; Britten acquired Remijsen, adding grocery distribution to the company‘s Netherlands operations. As one of the world‘s only companies wholly dedicated to providing logistics and logistics support services, Tibbett %26amp; Britten looked forward to smooth roads in the 21st century.
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